Friday, April 8, 2011

Tomato Basil Bread

I hate being sick. Especially with the stomach flu. Ew. It's so gross. I usually don't get the stomach flu. In fact, I hadn't had it for years until last Christmas. I made stollen and ate a bunch of it. Next day: stomach flu. As you can imagine, I haven't eaten stollen since then. In fact, I haven't even thought about it without shuddering. So imagine my revulsion when a few days ago, I saw my Christmas stollen sitting on the kitchen table. Just sitting there innocently. The brightly colored fruits and the pinkish hue of the icing were unmistakable. Dad must have found it in the freezer when he was putting the new fridge in. It was indeed the very Christmas stollen that I had hoped never to see again. Next day: stomach flu. Coincidence? I think not.But don't worry. Before I got sick, I did manage to make a few beautiful loaves of non-fruited bread.

1. Put the soup, water, and butter (cut up) in a microwavable 4 Cup measuring cup. Microwave until butter is melted and soup is warm.
2. Transfer liquid to mixing bowl and add salt, yeast, sugar, basil and garlic powder
3. Stir until yeast has dissolved.
4. Add 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition with dough hook.
5. Sprinkle a clean surface with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour and kneed the dough.
6.Then cover with a wet cloth and let rise 15 minutes.
7. Shape dough into two logs and place each log in a greased bread pan. Score the top by making three diagonal slits across the top of the bread with a serrated knife.
8. Beat the egg. Brush on top of bread. Sprinkle with more garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Brush again with the remaining egg.
9. Let rest for about 15 more minutes while the oven heats up to 350.
10. Bake bread for 25 minutes or until the crust is brown.